Grand Prairie Dogs Love Central Bark Dog Park

Central Bark offers plenty of parking and plenty of space for dogs to play.

2014 Patricia Cook

Central Bark is the City of Grand Prairie’s dog park which gives dogs the chance to exercise and play in a way they can’t in other city parks: off-leash and with other dogs. The three-acre park is divided into three separately fences areas designed to keep everyone—humans and canines—safe and happy.

As in most dog parks, one of the fenced areas is designated for small dogs and one for large dogs, making sure that interactions between the dogs is fairly evenly matched and safe; the third area is designed to allow for rotation of the others, to keep the grass in good shape. On the day I visited the park with my dog, all three areas were open.

There are benches with shade for the humans, but young trees provide little to no shade in the open grassy areas where the dogs play, which means in the middle of the day during a hot Texas summer, this might not be the place you’ll want to hang out in for long.A nice feature in the small dog side is the large rocks, which my Jack Russell and his friends loved to climb over and stand on. As a point of reference, my friends and I found ourselves climbing over and standing on them as well!

While this park is smaller than the dog parks in Arlington (Tails ‘N Trails) and Fort Worth (Fort Woof), it has all the requisite features, including wide open grassy areas, water fountains people and dogs, and one-way gates that keep dogs from getting outside or places they don’t belong.

Standard dog etiquette applies at Central Bark: keep your dog under control, no females in heat, no unvaccinated puppies or dogs, and remember to pick up after your dog.

If you live in Grand Prairie, or nearby, or if you just want to check out a different park, and want to let your dog do what dogs do best, Central Bark is a good option. It’s free, it’s fun, it’s social (or it can be) for the dogs and their owners—and everyone knows dog owners are among the friendliest people around! What more could you ask for in a dog park?

Central Bark is located just north of the Prairie Paws Adoption Center, at 2222 W. Warrior Trail, just off Great Southwest Parkway. There’s plenty of parking, so you don’t have to worry about finding a spot. For more information, contact Grand Prairie Animal Services at 972-237-8575, or visit the park’s web page.

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Patricia Cook lives in North Central Texas, and is a Dallas Cowboys fan. She loves going to parks, hanging out in nature, and taking photographs. She has a B.A. in English. You can reach Patricia at phcookjob@yahoo.com.